ECouldweterraformMars—thatis,c-优题课

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
Before the mid 1860’s, the impact of the railroads in the United States was limited, in the sense that the tracks ended at this Missouri River, approximately the center of the country. At the point the trains turned their freight, mail, and passengers over to steamboats, wagons, and stagecoaches. This meant that wagon freighting, stagecoaching, and steamboating did not come to an end when the first train appeared; rather they became supplements or feeders. Each new “end of track” became a center for animal drawn or waterborne transportation. The major effect of the railroad was to shorten the distance that had to be covered by the older, slower, and more costly means. Wagon freighters continued operating throughout the 1870’s and 1880’s and into the 1890’s. Although over constantly shrinking routes, and coaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid. The beginning of a major change was foreshadowed in the later 1860’s, when the Union Pacific Railroad at last began to build westward from the Central Plains city of Omaha to meet the Central Pacific Railroad advancing eastward from California through the formidable barrier of the Sierra Nevada. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the original Pacific Railroad bill in 1862 and a revised, financially much more generous version in 1864, little construction was completed until 1865 on the Central Pacific and 1866 on the Union Pacific. The primary reason was skepticism that a Railroad built through so challenging and thinly settled a stretch of desert, mountain, and semiarid plain could pay a profit. In the words of an economist, this was a case of “premature enterprise”, where not only the cost of construction but also the very high risk deterred private investment. In discussing the Pacific Railroad bill, the chair of the congressional committee bluntly stated that without government subsidy no one would undertake so unpromising a venture; yet it was a national necessity to link East and West together. 
61. The author refers to the impact of railroads before the late 1860’s as “limited” because
A. the track did not take the direct route from one city to the next
B. passengers and freight had to transfer to other modes of transportation to reach western destinations C. passengers preferred stagecoaches
D. railroad travel was quite expensive
62. What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroad expanded?
A. They developed competing routes.
B. Their drivers refused to work for the railroads.
C. They began to specialize in private investment.
D. There were insufficient numbers of trained people to operate them.
63. Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in line 17? 
A. To argue that a more direct route to the West could have been taken.
B. To identify a historically significant mountain range in the West.
C. To point out the location of a serious train accident.
D. To give an example of an obstacle faced by the central pacific.
64. The word “subsidy” in line 27 is closest in meaning to_____.
A. persuasion B. financing C. explanation D. penalty 

There are some very good things about open education．This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects．Open education allows students to be responsible for(负责)their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life．Some students do badly in traditional classrooms．The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning．Some students will be happier in an open education school．They will not have to worry about grades or rules．For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom．
But many students will not do well in an open classroom．For some students, there are too few rules．These students will do little in school．They will not make good use of open education．Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem of getting used to making so many choices．For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom．They worry about the rules even when there are no rules．Even a few rules will help this kind of students．The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it．Many teachers do not believe in open education．Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their school．
You now know what open education is．Some of its good points and bad points have been explained．You may have your own opinion about open education．The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory．In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school．The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students want some structure(结构)in their classes．They want and need to have rules．In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects．Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting．They would not study those subjects if they did not have to．
71. According to the passage, which of the following is Not the reason why some students like open education?
A. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning．
B. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own future.
C. Open education allows the students to develop their own interests.
D. Open education has fewer rules.
72. From the passage we can learn that .
A. The writer believes that all students don’t want some structure in their classes
B. The writer believes that all students want some structure in their classes
C. Nearly all teachers like open education
D. Only the students that worry about rules or grades a lot like to be in an open classroom
73. Some students will do little in an open classroom because _______．
A. there are too few rules B. they hate activities
C. open education is similar to traditional education D. they worry about the rules
74. Which is Not mentioned according to the passage given?
A. some advantages about open education
B. some disadvantages about open education
C. some students’ feelings in an open education school
D. the writer’s opinion about open university is the same as all the students’
75. Which of the following can best summarize (总结) the passage?
A. Many students like open education．
B. Open education is better than traditional education．
C. Open education is a really complicated (复杂) idea．
D. Open education is a good idea in practice．

Music is an international language. The songs that are sung or played by instruments are beautiful to all people everywhere.
Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the streets.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, politics, and activities of the American people. Most of the radio broadcast is music.
Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in every state. Once the popular singer is heard throughout the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.
Serious music for the concert halls is called classical music. Music for instruments is called orchestra music (管弦乐), such as the symphonies (交响乐) of Beethoven. There is opera (歌剧) for singers. There is ballet (芭蕾舞剧) for dancers like the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in China?
67. What can we know about music and people in America?
A. Student drivers carry small radios with earphones when they drive on the streets.
　 B. Students always listen to music before class, after class and at lunch.
　 C. Adult drivers only listen to news except music when they drive to work.
D. Adult drivers never listen to music when they drive to work.
68. How many kinds of music are mentioned in the passage?
　　 A. Six. B. Eight. C. Five. D. Seven.
69. Country music ______.
　　 A. is a kind of music that is popular in America
　　 B. has nothing to do with folk music
C. is only sung by cowboys
　　 D. is not played in the concert halls
70. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
　　 A. All people in America like popular music.
　　 B. Pop singers can get all the money from the tapes.
　　 C. Now, western or country music is a little different from its beginning.
　　 D. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is a kind of pop music.

MOSCOW, Sept. 4 (Xinhuanet)--- At least 335 people including 155 children, were killed in the three---day hostage crisis (人质危机) in a southern Russian school, Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky said on Saturday.
“We are still identifying the bodies. We have recovered 322 bodies, and 155 of them are children,” Fridinsky was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The prosecutor said the death toll would probably grow as the clean-up operation is continuing at the site, but it will not rise considerably.
Emergency workers pulled the bodies out of the school on Saturday, after Russian special forces rescued more than 400 children and adults hostages in a special operation that has suppressed (平定)the hostage -taking standoff by Friday night.
Valery Andreyev, regional chief of the Federal Security Service (FSS), said Friday that over 30 armed militants took part in the hostage-taking crisis and Russian troops captured three of them alive on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency.
He said people of Russian origin and foreign nationals were among the killed hostage-takers. Earlier official information showed that ten Arab militants were killed in Friday’s raid (突袭).
Andreyev said a large amount of explosives (爆炸物)and mines planted by hostage-takers in the school have been found.
Rusian Presidnet Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit early Saturday to the southern Russian town of Beslan where commandos (突击队) stormed the school to end the hostage crisis. He accused the attackers of trying to spark an racial conflict that would engulf (卷入)Russia’s troubled Caucasus Mountains region.
63. It can be inferred that the Russian hostage crisis began on ________.
A. Wednesday B. Monday C. Friday D. Saturday
64. The passage suggests that the terrorists _________.
A. hadn’t got any preparation before the attack
B. had informed the government to attack the school
C. had made a sudden attack to the school without any preparation
D. had prepared for the attack in advance
65. The underlined word “spark” in the last paragraph refers to _______.
A. speak out B. lead to C. start D. make
66. The last sentence of the passage indirectly states _______.
A. the purpose of the attackers’ taking over the hostage
B. the fighting between attackers and special forces was very fierce
C. Russian President was very sad about the hostage
D. there were many attackers in Caucasus Mountains region

The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a script from a doomsday(世界末日，最后审判日)movie. Many climatologists and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a concerted global effort to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
In the decades to come, Asia -- home to more than half the world's 6.3 billion people -- will lurch（突然倾斜）from one climate extreme to another, with impoverished farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes to weather patterns are already occurring and there is enough excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse are likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread humanitarian crises. (人道主义危机)
According to predictions, glaciers will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become more intense and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes on top of rising populations and spiraling demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental degradation(环境恶化) such as deforestation(森林砍伐) and pollution will likely magnify the impacts of climate change. In what could be a foretaste of the future, Japan was hit by a record 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill. The year before, a winter cold snap(寒流，寒潮，骤冷)and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India.
59. Which of the following has the similar meaning to rein in?
A. slow down, control B. increase, enhance C. bring inD. take in
60. According to the passage, which one is true?
A. The changes of weather will never lead to mass migration and widespread humanitarian crises.
B. The number of the population in Asia is the largest of all continents.
C. Global warming and changes will happen in the near future if we don’t take any actions.
D. Deforestation and pollution will not magnify the impacts of climate change.
61. The reason why glaciers will melt faster is that
A. there is more and more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
B. there is less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
C. the weather changed suddenly.
D. The reason is still unknown.
62. This passage is mainly about .
A. what kind of weather we like best.
B. the whole world will not be suitable for us to live in.
C. how to improve our environment.
D. the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons.